Paludarium
by Chimera Zak
Summary: Having just lost their home and with their lives under constant threat, Gunray and Haako had only one thing left to see them through the trials of war: each other. While marooned on an empty planet, forbidden feelings start to reemerge... (The rating for this fic is subject to change pending future chapters.)
1. Unusual Circumstances

Author's Note: Hay folks! Long time no see! I know it's been a long while since I uploaded here, but I've had a lot of big things happen in my life (mostly good) and my interests have changed over time. However for those of you still interested in my older stories, I am still working on improving/finishing those, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please enjoy this rather odd _Star Wars_ fanfic of mine starring two of my favorite characters in the Galaxy. See ya! (P.S., please forgive me of any inaccuracies.)

* * *

The once-still, bug-chirping waning day hours of a small unoccupied swamp planet was interrupted by the booming sound of a panicked _Sheathipede_-class shuttle breaking the sound barrier and crash-landing through the thick brush, narrowly avoiding many of the thick-trunked trees. The small insect-like ship slid to a stop partially on its side in the thick sepia mud; after a moment of settling, the four claw-foot landing gear of the ship came down (though proved useless in the soft soil), and as the ship sunk many inches on its side before the doors to the ship opened up, and the only two occupants of the ship nervously appeared.

"Oh no, t'is is not good." Rune Haako muttered with a look of absolute pessimism.

Looking out, Nute Gunray's attitude wasn't much better. "Oh, for the love of the Monarch…"

Nute Gunray and Rune Haako, Trade Federation Viceroy and Legal _Cohorta_/Trade Federation Lieutenant respectively, stood together on the metal ramp at a slight angle; already the two started to sweat not just from their predicament but from their heavy fancy robes not serving them well in the warm humidity. Their large well-developed Neimoidian heads were also heating up from the large flashy Viceroy Tiara and Attorney's Cowl. The two Insectoids just stood there, dazed from their crash landing and rising anxieties from this new situation.

"It's too bad the legs could not keep our ship stable in all t'is mud." Haako sighed as he let his hand fall to his side at the sight of their expensive shuttle sinking in the quagmire.

"Well, t'at is no surprise; t'is ship's legs were not made for t'is kind of _poor_ soil." Gunray grumbled, indicating his ship's original purpose of _not_ landing on lower class or impoverished places, where no self-respecting Neimoidian would want to do business.

After taking a moment to gaze around the dark, thick swamps that surrounded them, Rune Haako nervously turned to his superior and asked, "… W-what shall we do now, Viceroy?"

Gunray's lowered brow rose into a nervous frown as he surveyed the surrounding land. He thought hard, and came up with, "Well… maybe t'ere is a village of some kind t'at perhaps we could walk to for service."

"Service?" Rune repeated in disbelief. "On t'is planet?

Gunray looked back at Haako with his thick brow back down in a grumpy glare. "Do you have any better ideas?"

Rune looked down and meekly shook his head.

Gunray cautiously walked down the thin metal ramp, took off his nice business shoes and threw them back into the ship before setting his two-toed bird-like feet into the muck; luckily, Neimoidians had adapted stouter, wider-set toes for strolling through the rainforests and swamps of their own home planet. Gunray started down the shallow murky river of dark water as Rune held onto the door frame of the ship while struggled to take off his own shoes. Grimacing as he gingerly set his stretched toes into the mud to follow after his boss, Rune suddenly had a thought:

"Viceroy, wait!"

From a few yards away, Gunray looked back, irritated.

"Don't you t'ink we need to bring a we'pon? T'is planet could have dangerous beasts roaming around!"

Struggling to hold up his expensive robes from the deep mud, Nute called back, "Why didn't you t'ink of t'at before we got out here?"

"Well, I don't know! I was too busy worrying about t'eh ship!" Rune defended himself. "Just give me a second to go back and get one of our blaster rifles-"

"No!"

"Why?!"

"Because! You will track mud into my ship!" Gunray tilted his head and gave a baffled look in wonderment of why his officer would want to dirty up his beautiful shuttle.

"Sir! How can you t'ink of t'at when we could be _eaten_ on t'is planet?!"

"How do you know we _won't_ be eaten?" Gunray asked snidely. "For all we know, t'is planet could be deserted!"

Rune cocked his head and brow as he responded smartly. "Well, if you t'ink it's deserted, Sir, then what is the point of us treading out to look for a village?"

The Viceroy was well caught off guard by his attorney's logical observation; such attention to details and clever handling were part of what made Rune Haako such an ideal legal council and business negotiator. For a moment, Gunray struggled to come up with his own witty response, but when none came to him he did what he often did when faced with a strong threat: turned and retreated.

"W-wait, Viceroy!" Rune called to his leader as he struggled to catch up with him in the foot-deep mud.

After a few moments of quietly walking about a football field away from their ship, the two Neimoidians gazed around the impenetrable dark violet-colored trees with hanging vines and light insect and other animal sounds that surrounded them. This was certainly not too far away from how their own home world of Neimoidia or its purse worlds, but this small wet planet was unfamiliar.

At some point Rune turned to Nute and asked: "Sir, do you know what planet t'is is?"

Nute shook his head, the long hanging flaps of his Viceroy Tiara waved too. "No, I don't."

"Do you recall what the computer coordinants were before we crash landed?"

"T'ey said we were somewhere in the outer limits, intentionally far from where we were fleeing from. Ah' had originally set in to land on the smaller planet of Cora." Nute looked around nervously. "I have no idea what t'is planet is, but it sure doesn't look like Cora."

Haako sighed with exasperation.

Suddenly there was a noise some twenty feet away, and both Neimoidians froze in fear; their large eyes fixated their advanced Infrared Sight onto something warm blooded and big moving through the large trees and thick brush to the left of their path.

"W-w-what is t'at, Viceroy?!" Rune stammered nervously. But upon looking to his left and seeing he was talking to the air, he whirled around to see Gunray already taking off back to the ship; with the ends of his robes still held up in his large hands, Gunray looked like a fleeing woman who had just seen a rat crawl across her feet.

"Sir! Wait! What are you…?!" as he ran after him.

Calling back to his legal council, Gunray spouted through quickening breath: "I just remembered, Haako: self-pr'weservation comes before convenient service!"

The two businessmen managed to dart right back into their fallen _Sheathipede_ shuttle, but due to the power being out were unable to close the ship's door. Gunray, completely forgetting his phobia of getting mud on his ship's floor, rushed to the front of the ship near the automatic pilot cabin, opened a hidden floorboard and pulled out a Neimoidian Ceremonial Blaster Rifle.

"Sir! What are you doing with t'at?!" Haako demanded upon seeing his boss running back with the long powerful rifle.

Completely ignoring Haako, Gunray ran to the back of the ship, stood at the open entrance, cocked the rifle and began to fire indiscriminately at the surrounding swamp.

**BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!**

"LEAVE! LEAVE US ALONE!" Gunray shouted at the unseen beast stalking them.

**BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!**

"Viceroy! Please!"

"Shut up, Haako! Get back inside the ship!"

Shaking with reluctance, Haako still meekly did as he was told; he ran back inside the shadowed ship and hid underneath an object until the gunfire stopped and the swamp forests seemed still once more.

Panting but satisfied, Gunray lowered his gun and straightened his hat; he was rather proud of himself for frightening off whatever that big thing was. Laying the rifle against the wall, the Viceroy took hold of the handles of the entrance doors.

"Haako, help me!"

Getting up, Haako again does as he was told; together, the two Neimoidians managed to manually pull the doors closed.

Going back to the spacious cabin area (crowded by half-a-ton of Gunray's expensive treasures and other valuables he made off with from their captured home world) and sitting down in their cushioned seats, they breathed a sigh of relief; but there was still the issue of being marooned on this off the trail swamp planet. Haako looked to his boss and asked: "Well… what should we do now, Viceroy?"

Gunray leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he replied, "Not much, I am afraid; during our descent I had the ship's autopilot send out a request call for us to be picked up, but considering how far out we ah'r, we may be stuck here for a very long time."

"Ugh." Was all Rune could say in his irritation as the last bit of the weak sunlight from outside died down, leaving the two Neimoidians in shadows.

* * *

Author's Note: What's this? Two characters serendipitously stranded together _alone_ for an extended period of time? I wonder what this could be leading to…


	2. First Contact

It was an hour later and the Viceroy had just finished wetting some towels at the small sink at the side of the shuttle's roomy cabin; using some of their spare water just to wash their muddy feet and the floor as Gunray had first ordained, this was switched to just a full body wash at the advice of Haako. It had been a long stressful day full of deep loss, and Neimoidians typically did not like to eat dinner and sleep feeling unclean. There was a rather tense moment where the two businessmen inevitably debated on how this washing was to be done and who would go first:

"Alright, Haako, if you'll kindly step outside the ship while I wash myself…"

"What? No! I'm not going out t'ere, Sir."

Gunray dropped his solders and glared at his lawyer. "What do you mean you're not going out?"

"T'at beast could still be out t'ere, Viceroy!" Rune pleaded. "Please, don't make me go out t'ere."

"T'en how am I supposed to wash myself?" Nute challenged.

"Simple: I will turn myself around and give you privacy." Rune demonstrated by turning his back to the Viceroy. "See? Ah' won't look! T'ere is no reason you should doubt me."

Nute stood there, tight-lipped and unsure if he could trust Haako with him being bare; this was not the first time their trust had been pushed by a particularly delicate situation involving the flesh… in a way, the Viceroy blamed himself for going too far with his lawyer during a certain vacation they took together to their home planet… And now, with everything going to Hell around them, the Viceroy was in no mood to be the first one to stretch his trust.

Finally, Gunray came back and said, "Tell you what, Haako: _you bathe first."_

There was a moment when Haako really had to hold himself back from arguing with his superior; how could the Viceroy he had served so loyally and known personally for so long not trust him to simply not look at him when bathing? Had he, Rune, done something to upset the Viceroy? Something inside the normally logical-minded Neimoidian felt _hurt_.

Letting his hands fall to his sides, Haako gave in, "Ok, fine. I'll bathe first."

He frowned at the floor paneling as he and his boss crossed paths, with Nute handing him a wet towel to clean with.

Standing at the end of the ship with Gunray at the other with his back turned and his armed crossed, Rune nervously removed his coveted hat and slipped out of his long grey-violet and green robes before dropping his long pants. Now nude and already feeling cold, Rune began to wipe himself down with the wet towel, the vulnerability without his robes and hat was frightening. Of all the things Rune wished he could wipe away from his light olive-green skin were the dark mottling that crisscrossed all over him; it was a common Neimoidian skin reaction to over-indulgence or (in his and Gunray's case) great stress.

It was twenty minutes later, and Rune had finished, dried, and wrapped himself in one of the five soft cotton bed-robes that Gunray had made off with in their escape from Cato. With his hands to his hips and his lips pursed slightly, Haako let his boss know he was finished. Gunray turned to face his now-clean lawyer, and at first the Viceroy was rather caught off guard by how unintentionally sensual Rune looked, with the dark red of the robe complimenting the smooth lighter-green skin of Rune's exposed chest…

"Sir, ah'r you alright?"

It took a moment for Nute to blink his nictitating membranes over his dark red eyes to wake himself out of his stupor.

"Er, ah, yes. Ah' was just… recalling t'at is one of my robes."

"Yes, I know t'is is your robe." Rune said as he folded his thin arms and gave his boss a jaded expression. "You don't mind if I wear it, do you? Unless you ah'r afraid I might steal it?"

Nute shot his lawyer an annoyed look as he picked up his wet wash towel and dry towel and walked passed him to the back of the ship, strangely forgetful of his previous fears of Rune looking at him in the nude. Rune kept his back turned as Gunray stripped off his many ornate robes and removed his proud tiara from his lumped head. As Nute began to wash himself, Rune could feel himself growing antsy and irritated, his thoughts returning to all the times where he had proven his loyalty by committing certain "acts" upon the Viceroy upon command in the late nights within the cold space freighters or the warm master bed within Gunray's Palace; Haako also felt he more then proved his trustworthiness by never revealing these most forbidden actions. It was he, Rune, who was the one who extended himself the furthest to prove his loyalty to the Viceroy as a means of appeasing the Viceroy's soured trust since the betrayal of the Dark Lord. After their time looking out for one another in prison on Coruscant, Rune was sure their trust would not be compromised again, and the attorney felt this was essential if they were to both survive this war. But following each nightly encounter, Rune recalled Nute's embrace following, his lips upon the smooth nose-less spot of his face, his warm touch…

Rune sighed as he placed his hand to the side of his face, his fingers and claws grazing his lips. Call it a moment of weakness or passion, but Haako turned to sneak a peak at the nude Gunray; he desired to see that full, somewhat paunchy form covered in light blue glossy skin with light patches of green and yellow, and spidered in pink mottling. Rune felt a spark of pleasure go through him as he stared up and down Gunray, from his large cranium down to his wide-set two-toed feet. Then he quickly turned his head back around.

_Oh no! What have I done?_ Rune suddenly thought as he realized he had broken the trust he held with Nute not to look while they were bathing.

Haako tried to play it cool when Gunray had finished cleaning himself and dressed himself in another bedroom robe. Haako was lucky that Gunray seemed to not notice the slight blushing over his bony cheeks.

"Well, we might as well eat and get to bed." Gunray grumbled as he proceeded to move some of his expensive treasures out of the way of a fold out table and a large mattress which he and Haako pulled out from under the ship's cabin seating.

An hour passed by with the Viceroy and his legal attorney having dinner at the small pullout table across from one another. The air was oddly tense as the two businessmen sat silently, chewing on some chewgrubs, edible fungi and other Neimoidian goodies brought with them from their home world. For Rune, it was his continuing guilt over peeking at his boss and their memories of the night they let go; for Nute, it was tire from their day of fleeing for their lives and the sense of deep loss at losing their home world to the bastards of the Republic.

The mood certainly didn't change later in the night when the two men were laying in bed together, their backs coldly to one another in awkward fetal positions under the covers. They almost seemed like a married couple on the verge of divorce, but within their complicated minds and vivid dreams, they were nothing too dissimilar.

* * *

It was within the years of the Great Peace of the Republic, after Gunray and Haako had been thankfully freed from life-long prison sentences thanks to the Force-send Lott Dod. Aside from the now-tainted reputations of the Neimoidian species (not that Neimoidians were looked highly upon to begin with), business continued for the Trade Federation, with the mighty corporation still growing mightier with each passing business transaction in the Galaxy and every Republic tax evasion. But the darkness of their former client still lingered heavy on over the heads, and the pressures of the Republic's overbearing taxations on the Federations routes were starting to become quite a never-ending cat-and-mouse game all over the Galaxy. The threat of going back to prison, back to those cold steel cages fit only for animals, was of constant stress to the Viceroy.

Leaning against the cold metal wall of their large freighter ship, with his head down contemplatively with his right hand holding his (bad) left arm protectively, Rune Haako stood just outside his boss's private living quarters within the ship. The Viceroy had just gotten off the phone with a close Neimoidian partner; he was furious after hearing that yet another route was being overseen by Republic forces, and after the disaster of Naboo, Gunray wasn't confident enough to challenged another military. The feelings of encroachment were palpable amongst their fellow Neimoidians, and when Gunray finally allowed his lawyer inside his room, the Viceroy looked like he wanted to punch someone. But with the frustrations of the business, their tainted reputations, and the Republic's bullshit, there was another kind of stress brewing, and it was something rather odd happening between the Viceroy and his lawyer.

"Viceroy, you really mustn't drink so much." Haako tried to warn as Gunray, with his back coldly to him, uncorked a bottle of strong Neimoidian wine and went to fill a gold goblet for perhaps the fifth time.

"I am not a grub, Haako," Gunray replied gruffly with his back still turned. "Ah' 'ave been working all damn day, an' ah' need somet'ing, anyt'ing, to help myself calm down."

Rune pursed his full lips and frowned in protest as he limped closer to his boss; there was no way the schooled attorney was going to let the leader of the grand Trade Federation drink himself into a poisoning.

"Viceroy, listen to me! Ah' am not out to talk down to you, but t'ere ah' ot'er ways to relieve your st'wess. Ah' am under st'wess, too, but ah' can help you."

Finally, Gunray put both the bottle and goblet down, turned around and sat down on a honey-colored wooden chest that was decorated in Sovereign Beetle carvings. Resting his head in one hand while a cigar smoldered in the other, the Viceroy sighed and rubbed his tired eyes before looking up at Haako.

"And what could _you_ do for me?" He coldly asked.

Rune thought, then answered calmly, "Well, Sir, anyt'ing you would like."

Gunray gave him a look of incredulity. Haako continued,

"Viceroy, how long have you known me? How many times have I gone out of my way to appease you?"

Gunray gazed at the floor temporarily before answering: "Well… for quite a while now. But why does it matter how long you have been with me, or what you have done for me? You ah' my _cohorta_, it is your job to serve me."

"Yes, you ah'r right, Viceroy, it is my job. But my point is you do not need to indulge in so much drink when you have me here. You ah'r our leader, and I don't want to see you fall apart the way so many others have. If t'ere is somet'ing I can do to help you relax, tell me."

As the darkness of the locked room cast strong shadows upon them both, Gunray was suddenly captivated and surprised by the conviction in Haako's face and voice. Something told the Viceroy this was more then just about his stress.

"Haako… why do you care so much about me?"

Before him, Haako's expression sunk into a nervous frown, as if he wanted to say something but was afraid to. Eventually he did, as he sunk to his knees, looking up at his superior,

"Because, Sir… we have been through so much. You ah'r the only person who was willing to employ me long-term and to a high position despite my disability. You looked passed my weakness and saw only my strengths..."

Gunray's brows raised as he thought back, not quite remembering if he was ever concerned that Haako's palsy limpness of his left arm and left leg getting in the way of business. It was perfectly normal for Neimoidian employers to turn away clients with disabilities (though you'd seldom ever see a Neimoidian with a disability, as they would have been attacked and killed immediately in the Communal Hives/Grub Hatcheries by their fellow larvae).

"T'at means a lot to me, Viceroy. _You_ mean a lot to me."

At that point, Gunray's eyes grew wide as these words hit him, and Haako crept on his hands and knees right up to

"Haako…! I… you… n-no…!"

"Why not, Viceroy?" Haako spoke softly. "I do recall those times while we were sitting in prison, where you told me you were scared, and I comforted you, telling you it would be alright."

"Y-yes, I did loose my composure, but we were in prison, surrounded by all t'ose maniacs!" Gunray tried to reason. "Are you trying to extort me with t'is information?"

"No, Viceroy, never. I have no such ambitions. I only mention t'em here to you as a means of you allowing _me_ to express how _I _feel. I'm sorry, Sir, I know such activity is inappropriate of beings like us, but I… I can no longer ignore my internal desires…" Haako crept closer.

Gripping the front of the chest, Gunray was growing more and more anxious by his attorney's words and actions.

"H-Haako… how long have you had t'ese feelings for me?"

"Viceroy, I t'ink you have known for quite some time now t'at ah' have felt t'is strongly for you. And ah' know you have developed some feelings for me, too."

Gunray glared down at Haako. "W-what do you mean by t'at? How would you know t'at? Is t'is not hearsay on your part, Haako?"

"Legally, yes it is, Viceroy. But t'is is not a legal case and we ah'r not in a courtroom." Haako answered smartly, raising his brows. "Viceroy… although you have taken great care in hiding it, I have caught you staring at me on growing occasion when we ah'r together. I know I have a certain body and certain mannerisms that please you."

Gunray's eyes looked briefly to the floor in remembrance; he was at a loss for words now that his secret activities have become known, and he wished he could just run away from this very awkward situation.

Finally, Rune inched right up to his boss between his parted long legs; sitting up on his knees and placing his hands comfortingly on Nute's knees, he spoke,

"If my body is what will keep you sober and sane, then for the sake of us and our corporation, my body is yours."

The Viceroy searched desperately for words.

"If we just… kissed… no one would know."

"But, Haako… I-I can't! I-I'm not gay… I swear I'm not!"

"Just one kiss would not make you so, Sir."

Gunray swallowed away a lump in his throat, and beads of sweat appeared over the lumps of his forehead. Haako leaned forward, so very close to his superior's unsure lips.

"Haako… please…"

"Just let me help you feel better…"

"Haako, no… I-I can't…"

"Just this once, Viceroy… No one has to know…"

Gunray turned back to look Haako in the eyes, his brows turned up in an anxious frown and his normally downturned mouth was even deeper but his lips finally started to relax in growing trust.

Haako looked right back at him with sincerity. _"You know me, Viceroy. I will never tell."_

Nute found himself staring into Rune's large bright red eyes that seemed to shine with a kind of imploration that was both so cute and irresistible. Nute finally took a small breath to relax his chiseled face; he cautiously lifted his chin, closed his eyes and slightly puckered his lips in advancement. Rune smiled broadly before puckering his own light pink lips and kissing Nute on the mouth, resting his hands over the Viceroy's shoulders. Rather overwhelmed by all the physical interaction, Gunray gripped Haako's upper arms with his own broad hands, mentally preparing to push Haako away.

But it never came to that. It was so strange, how their simple kiss evolved into full-on mouth contact; it was mostly due to Haako becoming rather excited when his superior grabbed his arms, as if to say he wanted him badly and Haako just wanted to answer his boss's demand. With their eyes closed, the two Neimoidians didn't think about anything else.

It was funny how his lawyer kissed him with more passion and care then any woman the Viceroy had ever been with, and with his age and status as a Neimoidian, Nute had been around the hive, so to speak. But his promiscuous past was just the symptom of a big issue that had plagued Gunray's mind for quite some years now: as Haako had mentioned, Nute had indeed developed certain feelings for his lawyer, feelings which he dared not tell a soul about, especially other Neimoidians, less he be humiliated and ostracized.

But now that he was there with Rune, kissing sweet Rune's soft lips and feelings so comfortable, Nute for the moment didn't care; he didn't care about his reputation, the social restraints of Neimoidian culture, the rest of the Galaxy, or his own deep fears. For so long he had been under such growing stress and now he needed an escape. Gunray was always the rule-breaking type, so becoming sexually attracted to another drone (male) Neimoidian just should not scare him anymore.

By that point their kissing had evolved into further physical contact: Rune found himself fully embracing his boss around the neck, straddling Nute's lap with his dress-like robes pulled up to expose the tight leggings he wore. The Viceroy in response allowed his hands to migrate down Rune's rather curvy body down to grip his hips. Rune let out a little sound of excitement at feeling his body rubbed down, and tilted his head to catch a quick breath of air for them both before full-on sucking Nute's mouth, which Nute himself seemed to enjoy, holding on tightly to Rune.

With their breathing and heart rates climbing, the two Neimoidians began to experience simultaneous hard-ons, which neither certainly planned on. This was just meant to be a harmless kiss, but now it was getting out of hand. Slowly but careful not to arise suspicion in one another, Nute and Rune broke off their long kiss, the moment ending with a long gaze into each other's bright jeweled eyes.

Nervously blinking his nictating membranes, Gunray removed his hands from gripping his attorney's hips as Haako gingerly lifted himself off of Gunray's lap and straightened out his robes, a bright blush crossed over his lean face. Clearing his throat, Nute was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Erm… well, yes. Ahh… t'ank you for t'at, Haako. I… actually do feel quite a bit better now…" Nute politely bowed his head to

Rather overcome that the Viceroy had found his kiss to be pleasurable, Rune clasp his hands together and bowed deeply, stammering, "Oh, yes! Ah, t'ank you, Sir; er, you ah'r very _wahr koom_!"

"Good-good, Haako. You ah'r dismissed for the night."

With another bow, Rune quickly left the room for his own. Down the entire way, he felt like he was floating; it was one thing for another Neimoidian to care enough that they would give you such a prestigious job despite a clear disability, but to have that same Neimoidian leader accept such a physical show of affection meant so much to Rune.

Rune could still remember vividly what he did that night after their big kiss; there he was laying in his bed with his sheets pulled back, a towel under himself to keep his expensive sheets and mattress from becoming dirtied; the feel of the back of his scaly hand upon his kissing lips did not compare to the firm lips of the Viceroy but was close enough to elicit an enjoyable session of masturbation, with Rune naked in bed except for his elaborate hat, working his shaft into the night until he eventually popped white strings of what had built up inside him from that one special kiss he shared with his superior.

But standing alone within the cold darkness of his room, that same superior was not feeling quite as invigorated about their secret actions that night. With his already stress-wrinkled face falling into a dreading frown, Nute held his face in his scaly hands in utter disbelief at himself.

"_Oh no… what is wrong with me? What have I done?!"_


	3. Rivers of Remembrance

It was about the tenth hour in the morning on the swamp planet, and both Neimoidians awoke to what felt like a heat wave. The clouds of yesterday had left for the time being, leaving the planet's large sun to practically roast the inside of Gunray's _Lapiz Cutter_. After sacrificing more of their water supply on boiling some Pylat eggs and washing their faces, Gunray and Haako started to slip back into their expensive robes; however, due to the heat, they both ended up just throwing on knee-length knickerbockers and open, long decorated robes of thin material (more clothes which Gunray had gotten away from Cato-Neimoidia with.) The two agreed that since they were clearly the only Neimoidians on this planet, they could get away with wearing such revealing clothing while avoiding public and social scrutiny.

However, as the day grew on and the heat grew on, Gunray and Haako soon found they could not stay inside the shuttle for fear of passing out, and so threw open the entrance door and sat slumped by the door, panting in the fresh air. With their backs resting against stacks of seating pillows and their bare feet laying on the ramp or hanging off the side, the two Neimoidians patiently waited for a CIS ship of some kind to come for them, though with no return messages on their computer's log, it was looking like that might not happen soon.

Wiping away beads of sweat from under the brim of his attorney's headdress, Haako asked his superior,

"When do you t'ink the rescue will come, Viceroy?"

Flipping back the long hanging flaps of his viceroy's tiara and signing, Gunray answered irritatingly, "My guess is when t'ey finally _decide_ to."

Haako meekly looked away with an agreeing shrug; he felt it better to just agree with the Viceroy then get him riled up at him. Then Haako had a troubling thought:

"Sir, (pant), what if t'is is some sort of punishment?"

"Punishment? (Pant) What the hell do you mean by t'at?" Gunray questioned with his head resting on his fist.

"Well, Sir, we _did_ forget your mechno-chair back on Cato-Neimoidia, remember?"

Gunray's low grumpy brows now rose into a more worried frown.

Haako took a gulp. "What if… leaving us str'wanded here is the General's way of making us pay for t'at mistake?"

Gunray felt his chest tighten, not just from the heat but also from the impending stress of ever having to face that degenerate Droid General for such a big mistake. Rubbing his dry eyes, Gunray said,

"Um, well… t'en ah' guess (pant) we will just have to stay here for a while!" He made a lackluster wave of his hand.

"_What…?"_ Haako stammered, looking at him.

But Gunray was quick to cut him off: "Look, Haako, do you really t'ink t'ey are just going to leave us here for good? You and I know the Dark Lord would not allow it, especially when the Republic has ships of t'ere own snooping around for us. So just calm yourself; we will be picked up in due time. If the General insists on testing us, t'en we will meet him with our patience."

Nute offered a confident smile to his lawyer, but Rune could only return an uncomfortable half-grin before sighing and turning back to gazing out at the violet-colored swamps and clear blue-green sky.

It was a few sweltering moments later of the two Neimoidians sunbathing, and the Viceroy sent his attorney back into the ship to make them both some fruit drinks using their water and some sweet Cato-fruit. However, when Rune begrudgingly got up and went back inside his boss's ship, he discovered a huge problem:

"Oh no! Ah, Sir? Sir!"

"What is it now?"

"We ah'r out of water!"

Gunray's eyes shot open.

"What?! Ah'r you sure?"

"Yes! T'ere is no water coming out of the faucets!"

Peeking inside and seeing Haako turn the nobs and nothing coming out, Gunray knew this was real. As Haako ran to him and whined that they were both going to die for sure before the rescues came, Gunray took hold of his upper arms and shook him slightly, ordering him to again calm down.

"Haako! Be still and listen: t'ere is t'at small murky river t'at runs t'wew the mud outside of our ship. All we have to do is follow t'at stream up and we should find a clean water source, perhaps a lagoon."

"Well… ok, I suppose it would not hurt to try and look. But what about t'at creature t'at tried to eat us last time?"

"No need to worry about t'at, Haako." Gunray smiled as he reached out and grabbed ahold of his Neimoidian Ceremonial Blaster Rifle.

His lawyer could only gulp and frown.

And so they were off, the two Neimoidians having better luck treading through the hot wet mud with their knee-length knickerbockers and higher-trimmed robes on; the lack of heavier expensive robes also allowed Gunray to carry his rifle while Haako carried the large water container from under the sink of the ship.

It was about a thirty-minute trek up the dirty-sludge river and into the deep swampy woods until the two Trade Federation leaders finally found what they hoped desperately to find: a waterfall, albeit a small one. With gasps of happiness the Neimoidians surged forward to the steady stream of water running down a series of high rocks cradled by thick tree roots; Nute and Rune waded through the deep water up to their hips just to get a cold clean water into their broad cupped hands and up to their dry lips. Even in their enthusiasm of finding clean water, the ever-cautious aliens knew that they were still in unfamiliar territory, and so kept their large gem-like eyes peeled for any dangerous creatures or ships flying over.

"Ahh, t'at is so _much_ better!" Rune said happily licking his lips and flicking the water off his nimble fingers.

"Yes, fortune indeed smiles upon us." Nute proclaimed happily, as he flicked droplets of cool water upon his sloped grey-blue face.

After allowing themselves some time to drink up and fill their ship's water container, the Viceroy and his attorney headed back to the ship with plans on now giving themselves a proper wash when the strong sun went down.

It was later after the two Neimoidians were dressed in their usual fancy robes/headdresses and enjoyed a modest lunch of boiled Pylat eggs with mold-soup. As they ate with the ship's radio playing lightly in the background and the sun shining through the open door, Gunray noticed his legal council was looking a bit glum. Very much the discerning businessman, Gunray asked him,

"What seems to be t'woubling you, Haako? 'Ah know we ah'r still stuck here, but at least we found water."

"Oh, not'ing really important, Viceroy…" Rune said as he meekly stirred his soup with his chin resting in his hand. "It is just t'at… 'ah feel 'ah should apologize."

"For what?"

"Well, Sir, I feel as t'ough 'ah have been a bit of a burdon during t'is whole ordeal. 'Ah have probably been complaining too much or questioning you too often… I feel I probably should be t'wrusting you more as a leader."

Gunray was unsure of how to respond to this; while it was true that his lawyer had been nagging him quite a bit for the past day and a half, Gunray could no longer deny that Haako has been the most loyal being in his whole life.

"Er, well… you don't need to, Haako. You 'ave served me very well! Not just as a legal _cohorta_, but as a close companion, I assure you."

Haako looked up and smiled briefly, muttering in Pak-Pak: _"Ranka yu."_

As Haako meekly turned away again, Gunray could feel a part of inside him come back to life; like a part of him that got a taste of that adorable smile of Haako, his large twinkling bright red-orange eyes and that shyness that you just wanted to cuddle. Gunray got a taste of that secret enjoyment that one would not expect from a lawyer, and over the time of their marooning, he craved for it again.

"You ah' _war-koom_, Haako. But why have you now developed t'is negativity around yourself?"

"Well…" Haako started, but had to pause to think about whether he really wanted to bring up the dream he had. Eventually, he got up the courage to talk about it, "… Sir, I 'ad a dr'weam last night, er, a flashback if you will…"

"Yes?"

"And, it was of the first time you and I, um… shared t'at kiss."

Gunray pursed his lips and blinked nervously. "Ahh, t'at… Why ah'r you 'aving dr'weams of t'at? T'at was quite a while ago…"

"To be honest, I t'ink t'at is the reason I thought of it: ever since we have slowly lost our planet system, it seems you have lost your interest in me, Viceroy…"

Haako nervously looked up at his boss, who's thick brows fell in preparation for a defensive snap, but Haako continued before Gunray could open his mouth,

"I know what you ah'r going to say, t'at our times toget'er alone were just for the sake of physical comfort as we both coped with the crumbling Galaxy around us. You want to say we touched each other and slept together out of a need to be comforted so t'at the next morning it would be forgotten and we would be fulfilled to work like good businessmen. But, Sir… in my time away from you during your time on Geonosis, I felt empty. And I sense you did, too."

Once given the chance, Gunray responded defensively: "H-how do you know how I am feeling? You can't read my mind!"

"Search your feelings, Viceroy." Haako spoke softly. "I know it is forbidden of our kind, but so is our union."

Gunray replied gruffly: "Our 'union' was just a physical one, I assure you, Haako. Our union was one of give and take; I give you a prestigious job despite certain physical setbacks on your part, and you 'service' me when stresses consume me. But we had another deal, remember: you assured me t'at just because I was going to bed with you did not mean I was stuck with you. I still desire women, Haako. I mean, if I only kept you around, t'en it might not look right and people might catch on. You understand, right?"

Gunray offered a confident grin to Haako, but the legal council was having none of it. The other Neimoidian turned away sadly, saying,

"Y-yes… I guess I do, Viceroy. It's just t'at, when you were gone, t'ere was no one really t'ere for me. I mean, yes, Senator Dodd and Captain Tuuk were there to 'distract' me, but they often took advantage of my physical state. They often made mockery of my reoccurring ailment."

"But… you 'ave since overcome your palsy, it appears."

"Yes, I 'ave. But I still struggle with certain activities, as you yourself know from past experience with me."

Nute hung his head, guilty of having forced Rune on top once and recalling the look of pain that crossed the other Neimoidian when he tried (and failed) to perform.

Rune looked off in the distance, his face hung with shame.

"People wonder why ah' am so pessimistic a lot of the time, and t'is is partly why. I am not used to being considered a useful being, not since my disability came about in my youth. Now everyone wonders why I had not died in the Grub Hatchery. I had to constantly prove t'at I am a useful Neimoidian. As much as our planet's rulers have tried to encourage our species to procreate (due, of course, to our low population count), no females would want me, Viceroy. T'ey saw the way I walked and t'ey knew."

Then there was the moment where Gunray actually caught what looked like gathering tears in Haako's large eyes before the lawyer quickly turned his head away, and Gunray instinctively did the same.

Crying was one of those things that Neimoidians wouldn't touch with a six-foot-Lightsaber; they as a people had no idea of how to handle someone who wept, so the only action to take was polite avoidance until the Neimoidian in question had regained their composure. And that is what Gunray did; Haako did indeed get back control of himself, though he was still visibly embarrassed.

"F-forgive me, Viceroy. I didn't mean t-to…"

"It's fine, Haako." Gunray quickly waved away with his hand. "It's just fine. And… I'm sorry t'at I left for Geonosis without telling you."

"I-it's ok now, Viceroy."

They quietly finished their lunches before the two Neimoidians went about the rest of their day. But their memories of better times still lingered...

* * *

"_Ohhhhhh, Haakohhhhh…"_

It was three years after the Naboo failure, a year after their first kiss sealed into their memory banks, and now that moment had developed into a full-on physical give-and-take for the two Neimoidian rulers of the Trade Federation.

Despite their great losses all thanks to the greedy Republic and their taxes, the Trade Federation was still making it by with funds to spare, mostly in part to supply and demand by the planets who were willing to pay double their original shipping charges to make up for the taxations. This still left the top cat Neimoidians with allowable vacation times, which for the Viceroy and his legal advisor was most welcome indeed, since their activities alone together had grown to such a degree that neither could risk continuing their forbidden activities onboard their ships lest one of their many fellow Neimoidians, allies, or Droids happen to walk in on them.

So there they were, locked safely behind the steel brass walls of Nute Gunray's palace on Cato-Neimoidia; it was a brilliant show of traditional Neimoidian architecture and artistic design with its pillars, tiles, carpets and staircases lined with the elaborate shell markings of the native Sovereign Beetle. After enjoying a day of sleeping in, having brunch of fine fungi and fine wine, catching the latest business reports on the hologram, and taking a rather comfortable stroll together over Gunray's estate, the two Neimoidians had now retired to the master bedroom. It was here that Nute Gunray found himself in a position with that certain someone that he could have never dreamed of.

His lawyer Rune Haako, completely naked except for his large framed headdress of course, was right in the middle of orally pleasuring the Viceroy; Rune's soft full lips were enveloped over Nute's impressive cock, which throbbed every time Rune tightened his mouth and lips in a hard suck. Ignoring the chilliness of being nude, Rune was on his knees like the good and faithful servant that he was, fondling his superior's balls and inserting his long fingers into his cloaca, earning some nice long moans from Nute. Nute, still dressed in some of his traditional red and orange robes, was pants-less from the waist down, with his slightly paunch stomach showing under the shadow of the robes he kept lifted over Rune's head so that the Viceroy would not get his own fluids on his nice robes. His tall Viceroy's tiara sat slightly crooked on his large head.

With his head cocked to the side, his eyes closed lazily and his upturned mouth slightly ajar to show his pointy top teeth lightly digging into his bottom lip, Gunray could feel himself about to come, with his balls tightening in Haako's nimble fingers, and his bright crimson cock becoming rock hard with a ting of pain and a sudden rush down his body. Rune must have felt it too, as he took a breath and swallowed in the entire length of Nute's organ, sucking hard while raking his tongue against the ridged underside.

"_H-Haako! Ahh! I-I'm going to…! __**Ohh!"**_ Gunray begged, his normally deep voice becoming quite high-pitched at the end.

Before he could even finish his sentence, he felt his body suddenly spew strings of white from the very tip of his length; Haako pulled Gunray's impressive girth from his wet mouth and took in a breath of fresh air just as his bare chest was showered in sperm.

Breathing heavy, Nute felt his knees buckle and braced himself on some furniture, beads of sweat visible on his lumpy forehead. Nute opened his gem-like dark red eyes and peered down to see a rather beautiful sight: Rune, with his large emotional eyes gazing back at him, panting with his cum-covered chest and stomach rising and falling, and leaning back on his good arm and a little smirk on his lips.

"(Pant-pant) Rune, I swear… (Pant) if you were not my lawyer…" Nute teased him as he plucked a small towel from his bedroom counter, took hold of his receding length and cleaned himself off.

"(Pant) You would do _what_ exactly, Sir?" Rune replied, unfazed by his boss's phony threat.

"Keep talking and I may not let you get d'wessed, Haako."

Rune gave a little laugh. "Well, I t'ink I may need a shower first, Viceroy." Rune said with a little laugh, noting the Viceroy's fresh fertilization on his chest.

Finally, Nute gave a half-nod and left the wall to go to his large private bathroom the set things up; he turned on the hot water to fill his large tub, set out some towels and came back out to find Rune still sitting on the floor.

"Well?" Nute said with a wave towards the bathroom. "Ah'r you not coming?"

Rune gave his superior a sheepish look and spoke, "Um, Sir… ah' need help getting up, remember?"

"Oh! Right, my apologies."

Nute quickly walked over to Rune, took hold of his upper arms and hoisted him up to his feet. As they walked to the fancy marble bathroom, Nute did feel rather sheepish himself for forgetting about Rune's physically disabling palsy, which left his left arm and left leg almost useless. It was unusual for Neimoidians to feel sympathy or empathy towards another Neimoidian, but given how loyal Rune had been to him throughout their ordeal dealing with the oppression of the Republic, Nute could feel something inside him developing for his legal _cohorta_.

Most fortunately, neither Neimoidian had suffered any real consequences from their secret activities, but this didn't stop Nute Gunray from maintaining an emotional detachment from his business partner, as was customary (and required) of their species. So when Rune cheekily invited the Viceroy to join him within his large enough tube, Nute rather coldly refused him, insulted him, threw a small washcloth at Rune and told him to clean himself up for bed before shutting the door.

Standing nude, dirty and alone in the bathroom as the warm water continued to run over him, Rune stared at the door almost dumbfounded at his superior's terribly mean action before turning away and sighing sadly as he began to wash himself. If only the Viceroy knew how much he longed for his embrace, his kiss, his touch. Rune knew to feel such thoughts was entirely improper of a Neimoidian, and that he was possibly putting the Viceroy in even greater risk of damaging his already damaged reputation for Rune's own physical desires.

Glancing over at his hard-earned attorney's cowl headdress that sat proudly upon the sink top, Haako felt guilty of his increasing pressure on the Viceroy to appease him. Sure, Rune was a skilled manipulator who could sell lava on Mustafar is he wanted to; it was why he was hired to be the top negotiator for the Trade Federation. But Rune was also responsible to be a sort of "damage control" for the corporation as well; it was his job to keep certain "situations" under control. Now it seemed Rune Haako himself was _causing_ a bad situation rather then _preventing_ one like he should.

Stepping out of the shower after finishing his wash and drying off with a towel, Rune made himself a promise that he would lay off his flirting with the Viceroy. He would still offer himself as physical appeasement for the boss in order to prevent Nute (and perhaps himself) from turning to other more dangerous means of relieving their stress.

Exiting the bathroom wearing a long-sleeve greyish purple kimono with matching long pants and a bright blue robe inside, Rune quietly approached the giant bed where Nute laid comfortably in. Nute lowered the book he was reading with a small sigh and looked his lawyer up and down, his eyes tired; Nute was also dressed in a loose-fitting dark maroon kimono and long pants, but he wore no under robe and instead allowed his bare chest to show.

Rune struggled to break away his stare from Nute's tantalizing chest and belly, but took a respectful bow to the dominant Neimoidian before saying,

"Viceroy, I-I must apologize to you for my constant tw'ifling with you. I know you ah'r under a lot of stw'ess right now and I 'ave not been helping t'at. Please forgive me for my dishonorable behavior, and I will do better." Rune bowed again.

Nute was rather overcome by his attorney's humility, as he felt like he should be the one to apologize to Rune for cursing him out in anger and throwing a towel at him after he had just got done servicing him and remaining so loyal to him for so long.

"Haako… t'ere is no need for an apology. If I may, I am sorry for how I 'ave been t'weating you; ah' 'ave just been so overwhelmed with fury over how humiliated I am t'anks to Amidala and the Republic's taxation of our kind. Ahh… I do appw'eciate what you do for me."

Haako smiled fondly to him, politely holding his bad hand in his good hand like a maid.

The two Neimoidians gazed at one another for what seemed like many minutes; it was one of those rare occasions when the two scheming Neimoidians held the look of sincerity in their large colorful insect eyes and their faces were relaxed. Yet again, the two Insectoids found themselves at such ease when they were alone together... it was so odd...

Then clearing his throat, Nute spoke up: "… Erm, well anyways. If you would like to come lie down with me and relax, you ah' welcome to. Ah' little mildew rubdown would not hurt either." Nute gave a raised brow and smirk as he reached over to his nightstand and pulled out a jar containing fresh purified Neimoidian wet mildew ready to use.

"Only if you request it of me, my Viceroy." Haako said with another respectful bow, still smiling.

"Ah' do."

And so, Haako happily took the jar and tried to open it between his legs with his one good hand as Gunray stripped off his robe and laid back in his bed with his head resting against his many pillows. Climbing in bed alongside him, Rune sheepishly handed back the jar of mildew he was unable to open, allowing Nute to open it for him with his strong fingers. Stripping off his own top robe (to avoid dealing with his long sleeves getting messy), Rune scooped out some small amounts of the wet green substance upon his long fingers and began to gently apply the stuff to Nute's chest. Nute shivered a little at the cool feel of the mildew upon his blue skin but quickly entered a very relaxed state with a deep sigh and resting his arms over his head, leaving himself totally open to the other Neimoidian's nimble touch (indeed a very uncommon occurrence within their species); Haako, sensing the mutual relaxation, straddled Gunray's hips, their crotches so close together, so that Haako could have a better position to rub his full palms of mildew over his the Viceroy's pectorals, paunch stomach, and ribcage. A smile crept up over Nute's face and he gave a long low croak of content; Rune responded with a happy croak of his own, his back bend and his head low to take in the masculine body he so enjoyed touching.

When the relaxing mildew massage was complete, Gunray's skin already looked brighter and healthier, though Rune gazed at poor Nute's growing number of stress-related wrinkles and mottling lines across his face; oh how the attorney wanted to give his boss a kiss just to ease the little remaining tension in his face. Eventually Nute gazed right back up at Rune and blushed a bit at seeing his lawyer's bare top half and straddling him. Normally Nute would insult the other bug and tell him to get off of him, but there was no way he could do that now that he was relaxed and they had his whole palace to themselves. Without care, Gunray lifted his hand to gently rub under Haako's chin, then dragged his claws down Haako's bare chest and stomach, tracing around his muscles. Now Haako was the one blushing!

Without another word, the two Neimoidians threw the covers over themselves and wrapped each other in a warm embrace. As their lips locked without hesitation, Nute turned out the lamp light on his nightstand, bringing about total darkness in the large royal room. Their specialized Infrared eyesight was not used; instead, the two older Neimoidians chose to enjoy each other's touch and taste.

However even with how unnaturally comfortable the two Neimoidians were with each other, they still had yet to have sex, equally due to Nute's homophobia and Rune's timidity. But that time would come quite soon…


End file.
